Churchill another Classic star by Galileo out of a speedy mare

2,000 Guineas hero hails from a family of five-furlong winners

Churchill (right) becomes the third winner of the 2,000 Guineas for his sire Galileo

Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

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By Martin Stevens
4:48PM, MAY 6 2017

Churchill became the third winner of the 2,000 Guineas for his phenomenal sire Galileo at Newmarket on Saturday and, like the two before him, he is out of a fast mare.

Galileo's first 2,000 Guineas winner was the incomparable Frankel, who is out of Kind, a Listed winner over five and six furlongs. His second was Gleneagles, whose dam You'resothrilling won the Cherry Hinton Stakes over six furlongs and finished second in the Albany Stakes over the same distance.

Churchill was bred by Liberty Bloodstock out of the Storm Cat mare Meow, winner of the Listed Grangecon Stud Stakes and a neck second in the Queen Mary Stakes, both over the minimum trip.

Meow is out of Airwave, successful in the Cheveley Park Stakes at two and a scintillating winner of the Temple Stakes at three, the same season she was just touched off by Choisir in the Golden Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Airwave – a 12,000gns Doncaster yearling purchase by her trainer Henry Candy from breeders Manor Farm Stud – also finished placed in the July Cup, Haydock Sprint Cup and Diadem Stakes before her sale to Coolmore for 550,000gns.

Switched to Aidan O'Brien, she won the Ridgewood Pearl Stakes over a mile aged five shortly before her retirement from racing.

Airwave is a half-sister to the ill-fated Nunthorpe Stakes winner Jwala and her dam, granddam and great-granddam in the maternal line – Kangra Valley, Thorner Lane and Spinner – were all five-furlong winners. Spinner was also a half-sister to Clantime, a specialist over five furlongs.

Remarkably, several recent ancestors in Churchill's maternal pedigree were categorised as non-thoroughbred until Thorner Lane gained entry in the General Stud Book in the 1980s.

Although the family might be lightning fast, it has showed before that it was capable of providing class over longer distances. As well as delivering Churchill's dam Meow, Airwave has also produced Aloof, a Group 3 winner over 1m1½f, and Orator, a Listed winner over a mile, when matched with Galileo.

Meow has a two-year-old filly by Galileo called Clemmie - a name history fans will appreciate - and a yearling colt by Galileo. The mare returned to Coolmore's perennial champion sire last year.

Galileo has now appeared in the pedigrees of all of the last five winners of the 2,000 Guineas – as sire of Gleneagles (2015) and Churchill (2017); as paternal grandsire of Dawn Approach (2013) via New Approach; and as maternal grandsire of Night Of Thunder (2014) and Galileo Gold (2016).

Galileo also made his presence felt in this year's 2,000 Guineas as the damsire of Barney Roy, runner-up to Churchill.

Elsewhere on the Guineas card at Newmarket on Saturday, Galileo's Irish Oaks-winning daughter Seventh Heaven was a five-length winner of the Group 2 Jockey Club Stakes.